Supreme Court

Lord Strathclyde: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Lord Chancellor has discussed with representatives of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, the Lord Chief Justice and the senior judiciary criteria for the size, security and configuration of the Supreme Court building; and, if so, what conclusions they have reached.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: I have consulted with representatives of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary over their requirements for the new Supreme Court. Any views expressed by the senior judiciary during the consultation period and since have also been taken into account.
	In broad terms, the new building for the Supreme Court will need to provide a secure working environment for judiciary and staff and contain state-of-the-art hearing rooms and ancillary accommodation and facilities. It will also have to provide value for money.

Supreme Court

Lord Strathclyde: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect a Supreme Court to be created; and when they will publish a business plan setting out the projected total costs of fitting out and managing a Supreme Court building.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: The Government's intention is for the necessary legislative provision creating the Supreme Court to be in place by the end of this parliamentary session and for those provisions to be brought into force as soon as practicable thereafter.
	Estimated costs of the new Supreme Court will be included in the Financial Memorandum to the Constitutional Reform Bill due to be laid before this House on 24 February.

Supreme Court

Lord Strathclyde: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the current estimate of the likely cost of a Supreme Court building.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton: As part of the appraisal of the building solutions currently under consideration, we are completing a full Treasury "Green Book" style economic appraisal which evaluates the financial implications of the various options. This will include both a value-for-money and an affordability assessment.
	Until this has been completed, it is not possible to provide a reliable indication of cost. Estimated costs will, however, be included in the Financial Memorandum to the Constitutional Reform Bill.

Legislation: Evaluation

Lord Norton of Louth: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many, and which, measures enacted in 2001, 2002 and 2003 have been, or it is intended will be, subject to programme evaluation.[HL
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Baroness Amos: All legislation is subject to evaluation by the departments responsible, but whether a particular programme of evaluation has been, or will be, followed in the case of each of the Acts passed in 2001, 2002 and 2003 could be established only at disproportionate cost. The noble Lord will be aware that the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 has recently been reviewed by a committee of Privy Counsellors.

Gender Recognition

Lord Tebbit: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether persons who have been issued with birth certificates under the proposed gender recognition legislation will, if sentenced to imprisonment, be accommodated in prisons alongside those of their biological sex or that stated on their reissued birth certificates.

Lord Filkin: In accordance with legal obligations, Her Majesty's Prison Service will accommodate prisoners who have been granted a gender recognition certificate in prisons appropriate to their acquired gender.

Children Act Sub-Committee

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will lay before Parliament their second stage evaluation of the Children Act Sub-Committee guidelines regarding cases of parental contact where there is domestic violence.

Lord Filkin: We are currently considering the results of the second survey. The results will be published at the same time as the Government's final response to the Children Act Sub-Committee (CASC) report, Making Contact Work. A copy of the results of the second survey will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and a copy sent to the noble Baroness.

Magistrates' Courts: Evaluation of Specialist Courts

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress they have made with the full evaluation of specialist domestic violence courts; and when the evaluation will be completed.

Lord Filkin: The Crown Prosecution Service and the Department for Constitutional Affairs have undertaken an evaluation of five specialist magistrates' courts operating in Cardiff, Derby, Leeds, West London and Wolverhampton. The results of the evaluation will be presented at a national conference, in London, on 22 March 2004.

Sudan: Darfur Province

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have reports from Her Majesty's Embassy in Khartoum, or from their Special Representative in the Sudan, on the collapse of the ceasefire in Darfur province, large displacement of population and destruction of villages; and whether they are in communication with the United Nations Special Envoy Tom Vraalsen.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: We remain concerned about the situation in Darfur. Our ambassador in Khartoum and the UK Special Representative are in contact with all parties, including the Government of Sudan at senior level and the UNSG's Special Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in Sudan, Tom Vraalsen, on this matter. We are pressing for the re-establishment of a ceasefire, preferably with international monitoring, which would permit humanitarian access to those in need and which would lead to talks about how the problems of Darfur can best be addressed.

European Court of Human Rights: UK Cases

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which cases they have lost in the European Court of Human Rights since a right of appeal was permitted; which cases have been appealed; and whether they will consider a policy of settling more cases out of court.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Article 43 of the European Convention on Human Rights (as amended by Protocol 11) allows any party to a case in which there has been a judgment of a Chamber of the Court, in exceptional circumstances, to request that the case be referred to the Grand Chamber.
	Since the entry into force of Protocol 11 on 1 November 1998, the Grand Chamber has issued judgments in two cases to which the United Kingdom was a party following a request by the Government under Article 43 (Hatton v United Kingdom and Ezeh and Connors v United Kingdom) and in one case following a request by the applicant (Kingsley v United Kingdom). The Grand Chamber found there to have been violations of the Convention in Kingsley and Ezeh and Connors; in Hatton it found a violation of Article 13 but no violation of Article 8. There is one further case to which the United Kingdom is a party pending before the Grand Chamber following a request by the Government under Article 43 (Edwards and Lewis v United Kingdom). In addition to referrals under Article 43 and cases considered under transitional arrangements provided for in Protocol 11, the Grand Chamber has issued judgments in seven cases to which the United Kingdom was a party in which jurisdiction was relinquished by a Chamber of the Court under Article 30 of the Convention.
	The Government consider the possibility of settling applications brought against them in the European Court of Human Rights on a case-by-case basis and against the background of the Lord Chancellor's announcement of March 2001 concerning the Government's pledge to consider and use alternative dispute resolution in all suitable cases wherever the other party accepts it. The pledge acknowledges that there will be disputes where, for example, a legal precedent is needed to clarify the law, or where it would be contrary to the public interest to settle.

Gibraltar: Tercentenary Celebrations

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What steps they are taking to celebrate the tercentenary of British rule of Gibraltar in 2004.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The Government intend to play a full part in celebrating the warm relationship that we have enjoyed with the people of Gibraltar for the past 300 years. There is an extensive programme of commemorative events to take place in Gibraltar this year.
	The bands of the Royal Marines, the Royal Engineers and the Royal Air Force, and the pipes and drums of the Royal Irish Regiment, are planning to participate in four major events. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment and military units from the United Kingdom, including Royal Navy ships and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will take part in a total of more than 20 events throughout the year.
	His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent will attend a Thanksgiving Service at St Clement Danes on 2 March. Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal will visit Gibraltar later this year.

Public Servants and Racist Organisations

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What action they propose to prevent law enforcement officers and other public servants from holding membership of known racist organisations proscribed by law.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has recently agreed with the view that membership of groups such as the British National Party (BNP) by police officers should be a disciplinary offence.

Police Officers: Racist Behaviour

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many police officers have been dismissed for racist behaviour since the publication in 1999 of the Macpherson report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Central records are not currently held on the number of police officers who are dismissed for racist behaviour.
	We are arranging for data to be collected from police forces in England and Wales, and I will send you a substantive response and place copies of the letter in the Library of the House when this information has been collated.

Police Officers: Racist Behaviour

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many police officers dismissed for unacceptable racist behaviour have been reinstated by the Home Secretary since 2000.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Under Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999, the Secretary of State is no longer the appellate authority for disciplinary action taken against police officers. Under those regulations appeals are determined solely by Independent Police Appeals Tribunals. Records indicate that three police officers dismissed for unacceptable racist behaviour have appealed successfully and been reinstated since 2000.

Work Permits: Sectors Based Scheme

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many work permits for the United Kingdom have been "sectors based scheme", since they came into office; and how many were temporary.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Work Permits (UK) had issued 3,878 Sectors Based Scheme (SBS) permits up to 30 September 2003.
	Works permits issued under the SBS may be granted for a period of up to 12 months and are therefore considered to be "temporary". While individuals are permitted to participate in the SBS on more than one occasion, successive periods of SBS employment do not lead to permanent settlement in the UK.

Terrorism: Legislation and Publication of Information

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they intend to introduce amending legislation:
	to deal with all forms of terrorism, whatever the nationality of the perpetrators; and
	no longer to require a derogation from the European Convention on Human Rights; and
	Whether they intend to introduce amending legislation:
	(a) defining a set of offences which are characteristic of terrorism and for which it should be possible to prosecute without relying on sensitive material; and
	(b) raising the potential penalty where it can be established that there are links with terrorism; and
	Whether they intend to publish up-to-date anonymised information on its terrorism website on:
	(a) each certification under Part 4 of the Anti-terrorist, Crime and Security Act 2001 setting courts duration and current status, including the outcome of any appearance before the Special Immigration Appeals Commissions including bail hearings or appeals (giving both the determination and a link to the full open reasons); and
	(b) the number of detentions there have been under the terrorism Acts and their outcomes (for example, prosecution, certified under Part 4, release).

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: I refer the noble Lord to the Statement made by my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on 18 December, when he undertook to consider carefully the recommendations of the Newton report.
	The Home Secretary also stated that he would ensure that the statistics, already in the public domain, relating to the individuals detained under the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Security Act 2001 Part 4 powers and the figures on terrorist arrests would be placed on the terrorism website which the Home Office has developed to ensure greater public information is available on terrorism matters.

Terrorism Legislation: Arrests and Detentions

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Terrorism Act detainees in HM Prison Belmarsh include a double amputee; and whether he also suffers from mental illness.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: An order, issued by the Special Immigration Appeal Commission, prevents the publication of the names of the detainees or other information that would enable them or their families to be identified.
	It would also be inappropriate to comment on the individual's mental health for reason of medical confidentiality.

Terrorism Legislation: Arrests and Detentions

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the provisions for physical and mental health at HM Prison Belmarsh are sufficient to deal with the needs of long-term detainees under the Terrorism Act.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The Government are satisfied that the level of medical care both within Belmarsh Prison and through its links with local hospital providers is sufficient to deal with the physical and mental needs of both the detainees and other persons held in custody.

Terrorism Legislation: Arrests and Detentions

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many persons, of what nationalities, are now held under the terrorism Acts in maximum security prisons; whether some detainees are held in other prisons; and how long in all cases they expect to detain them.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Fourteen people are currently detained under the powers contained in Part 4 of the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. All of them are categorised as standard risk Category A detainees.
	Thirteen of the detainees are held in high security prisons whilst the 14th detainee is held at Broadmoor high security hospital.
	In relation to the nationality of the detainees, we do not disclose these details as to do so could enable the identification of the detainees in contravention of anonymity orders issued by Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
	The Act allows the Home Secretary to detain suspected international terrorists who pose a threat to our national security for an undefined period. However, under the terms of the Act, the legislation needs to be renewed annually by Parliament and has a sunset clause of November 2006, meaning that further legislation would be required if the Government were to detain any individual under these powers beyond that date.
	In addition, the SIAC is charged with reviewing individual cases six months after determining the appeal and every three months thereafter. It is open to the detainees to make a voluntary departure from the United Kingdom at any time. In addition, the detainees may apply for bail at any time. In the first 10 cases so far reviewed by the commission, SIAC has upheld the Home Secretary's certification in every case.
	It should also be noted that under the terms of the derogation, the powers applied by the Government should be no more than is strictly necessary. As a result, the Act includes the provision that the Home Secretary may repeal it during its validity if he considers this to be appropriate.
	To date, six people have been convicted under the Terrorism Act 2000. Of these, four have now left detention. The two remaining prisoners are detained in high security prisons.

Terrorism Legislation: Arrests and Detentions

Baroness Cox: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people were arrested in November and December 2003 on suspicion of terrorist offences, and what were their nationalities and immigration status.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Thirty-five people were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000 in November and December of 2003: 20 of these were United Kingdom citizens, seven were Algerian, two Turkish, two Portuguese, one French, one Syrian, one Belgian and one Tunisian. Three individuals were found to have overstayed their leave to remain.

Youth Offending Teams: Bereavement Counselling

Baroness Goudie: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans for all youth offending teams to include an officer who is specifically trained in, and aware of, all aspects of issues relating to bereavement counselling.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: We do not plan to include this specialist function in youth offending teams (YOT) training. However the "Asset" assessment process aims to identify any significant bereavement or loss suffered by young offenders and as necessary the intervention plan will include appropriate arrangements with a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service or locally available specific counselling service.

M6 Toll: Policing

The Earl of Mar and Kellie: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What arrangements are in place for the policing of the M6 Toll, and how that policing is paid for.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The M6 Toll road is policed by the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG), which comprises officers from Staffordshire Police, Warwickshire Police, West Midlands Police and the West Mercia Constabulary. The cost is met from normal police funds.

National Firearms Register

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	On what date the contract was awarded for the provision of a National Firearms Register as required by Section 39 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997; to whom it was awarded; and whether they still expect the project to be operational by 31 August 2004.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The contract was awarded on 24 October 2003 to Anite Public Sector. The project is still expected to be operational by 31 August 2004.

Chemical Weapons: Russian Federation

Lord Jopling: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	With reference to Annex D on page 44 of their publication The G8 Global Partnership on the destruction of former Soviet chemical weapons, what form of munitions comprise the "Over four million nerve gas filled munitions . . ." other than the ones described earlier as ". . . some two million artillery and rocket munitions are stored containing some 5,500 tonnes of the nerve agents Sarin, Soman and Vx"; and
	Where they are proposing to destroy the remaining 10 per cent, or thereabouts, of all declared Russian CW munitions which will not be destroyed at Shchuch'ye and Kizner depots; when destruction is proposed to begin; and what contribution the Government intend to make to this work.

Lord Bach: The Chemical Weapons Convention requires states parties who declare possession of chemical weapons to destroy them. The Russian Federation is therefore responsible for the programme of destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, which comprises both bulk agent and filled munitions.
	Russia began destruction at Gorny in December 2002 of the bulk mustard and lewisite stored there, representing 2.9 per cent by volume of Russia's total declared chemical weapon agent. Work has begun at Kambarka associated with construction of a facility for destruction of the bulk lewisite stored at that site, representing 15.9 per cent by volume of Russia's total chemical weapon agent.
	Air-delivered munitions, comprising some 53 per cent by volume of Russia's declared chemical weapon agent and 5 per cent by number of its munitions, are stored at three sites: Leonidovka, Maradykovskiy and Pochep. They mainly contain the nerve agents Sarin, Soman and Vx. As part of its destruction programme, Russia plans to construct facilities at each of these three sites.
	The remainder of the declared stockpile comprises artillery and rocket munitions stored at Kizner and Shchuch'ye. These comprise some 14.2 per cent and 13.6 per cent respectively by volume of Russia's declared chemical weapon agent, and 50 per cent and 45 per cent by number of munitions; they mainly contain the nerve agents Sarin, Soman and Vx. Russia plans to destroy the stocks from both Shchuch'ye and Kizner at the Shchuch'ye destruction facility.
	Dates for the start of operations at facilities other than Gorny are not yet firm, but the Chemical Weapons Convention requires that destruction of all chemical weapons must be completed no later than 29 April 2012.
	The Government's current priority in this area is to provide support at Shchuch'ye. No decisions have been made whether to provide support at any other site at a later date.

Gulf War 1990–91: Vaccines

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish in the Official Report the findings of Lieutenant-Colonel Graham Howe of the British Forces Health Services in Germany, quoted, in the Times on 12 January, in the case of Lance Corporal Alex Izett, whose expected deployment to the Gulf for the 1990–91 conflict was cancelled after he had received vaccination against anthrax, botulism, plague, and other biological agents.

Lord Bach: It would not be appropriate for the report of Lieutenant-Colonel Graham Howe to be published. Medical reports obtained by the Veterans Agency for the purposes of determining a claim to war disablement pension contain details of a personal and private nature regarding the individual concerned. I am therefore withholding this information in accordance with Exemption 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Duke of York's Royal Military School and Queen Victoria School

Lord Beaumont of Whitley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Statement by the Lord Bach on 8 January (WS 11) on the Duke of York's Military School and the Queen Victoria School, whether, in the interests of open government, they intend to publish the review team's provisional recommendations; and, if not, why not.

Lord Bach: It would not be appropriate to publish a draft report that had not gained steering group approval within the standard quinquennial review process.

Domestic Violence

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What progress has been made by the Department for Work and Pensions and the Home Office to update guidance covering social security and other benefits for those leaving violent relationships; and which organisations have been invited to work with the Government on this project.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: We are currently preparing guidance for all our staff on dealing with vulnerable people, including victims of domestic violence. The guidance is being written in consultation with a range of organisations with specialist knowledge of the different areas covered, including citizens advice bureaux and Women's Aid. We hope to issue the guidance to all front-line staff later this year.

Pension Credit

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What plans they have to remedy the situation where 4.9 million pensioners are eligible for pension credit this tax year, yet only 2.53 million are receiving it.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: The Government have set a target for at least 3 million pensioner households, corresponding to around 3.7 million individuals, to be in receipt of pension credit by 2006. We want all those eligible for pension credit to take up their entitlement. We are on course to meet the 2006 target.
	A direct mail pack to pensioner households remains at the heart of our marketing campaign for pension credit. We will have written to all identified pensioner households by June 2004. Our TV and press advertising campaign continues during this year, helping to ensure that both pensioners and their families are fully aware of pension credit and how to apply for it.
	We are supplementing this activity with follow-up direct mail contact in appropriate cases, in addition to personal contact with those identified as being particularly likely to be eligible. At local level, the local service staff of the Pension Service will continue to work with external organisations to ensure that we reach those pensioners considered least likely to apply. Our campaign is designed to produce a steady build-up of new pension credit households and we will ensure that progress towards achieving our target is maintained during 2004.

Television: Audio Description

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What contact Ministers have had, since the enactment of the Communications Act 2003, with public service broadcasters who are still withholding their audio description from blind and partially sighted digital satellite customers; and whether there is any further action they are considering.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: I understand that Channel 5 is now available with audio description on digital satellite but that there remain technical and commercial issues to be solved by broadcasters, manufacturers and platform operators before the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 can be made available on digital satellite. DCMS officials have been working as part of the Digital Television Action Plan to ensure that audio description can be received on all platforms and I am writing to the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 about the issue, given the benefits of finding an early solution.

Tourism: Government Funding

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What part of the £10.5 million grant aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport allocated for domestic marketing in England for 2003–04 has had matched funding from the private sector.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The department has allocated grant-in-aid of £10.4 million to VisitBritain in 2003–04 to fund its domestic marketing activity. This grant-in-aid is available irrespective of the amount of funding received from the private sector. Nevertheless, VisitBritain expects to receive £4.3 million in non-government funding in 2003–04 to support domestic marketing.

Tourism: Government Funding

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much of the £3.6 million allocated at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to regional development agencies in 2003–04 has been used for funding regional tourist boards in England.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Of the £3.6 million allocated to regional development agencies (RDAs) by DCMS for support of tourism, to date £3,510,000 has been passed to the regional tourist boards (RTBs). Full details of RDAs' funding of their regional tourist boards were placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 20 January 2004.

Financial Services Authority

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will review the work of the Financial Services Authority in view of its admission that it mistakenly included a company in its online comparative annuity tables which no longer existed.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is in the process of reviewing some of its practices as part of the two-year review of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 currently under way. While unfortunate, the incident to which the noble Lord refers does not in itself justify inclusion in the current review or any additional review into FSA practices.

Millennium Dome

Lord Strathclyde: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	At what stage, before the opening of the Millennium Dome, a business plan was prepared for the Minister responsible, assessing the total costs of fitting out and managing the building.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Responsibility for the Dome project rested with the board of Millennium Central Limited, later the New Millennium Experience Company Limited. The earliest business plan based on the Dome was presented to the Millennium Commission by the company in December 1996. In February 1997, the Government took Millennium Central Limited into public ownership with a government Minister as sole shareholder. The business plan was revised on a number of occasions before the opening of the Dome and the shareholder was informed throughout about projections of cost.

Personal Income

Baroness Sharp of Guildford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people in England in 2001–02 have incomes of:
	(a) over £100,000;
	(b) over £250,000;
	(c) over £500,000; and
	(d) over £1,000,000.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information is given in the table below.
	
		
			 Total Income in 2001–02 Number of taxpayers (thousands) in England 
			 (a) over £100,000 310 
			 (b) over £250,000 60 
			 (c) over £500,000 20 
			 (d) over £1,000,000 6 
		
	
	The estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes 2000–01 and are consistent with the Pre-Budget Report 2003.

Medical Research Council

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether it is essential for the Medical Research Council to be located in London; and, if not, when the option of moving to a cheaper location was last considered.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The location of MRC head office was last reviewed in 1993 when a move to Swindon was considered. Independent consultants concluded at this time that, at the rental rates paid by the MRC, Park Crescent remained the most cost-effective location.
	The location of MRC head office is being considered as part of the current review into the relocation of public service activities outside of the London and the south-east which is expected to report in March.

UK Online for Business

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why their Internet project, UK Online for Business, failed to meet its key targets and is to be disbanded in April.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: In 2000, the year the UK Online for Business programme was initiated, the Government had the following targets for business use of ICT:
	(1) 1.5 million micro, small and medium-sized businesses to be online by 2002;
	(2) 1 million micro, small and medium-sized businesses to be trading online by 2002;
	(3) the performance of the UK's micro and small businesses to be up with the best in the world.
	The first target of 1.5 million SMEs going online was reached in 2000.
	The second target of 1 million SMEs trading online was missed, with a total of 490,000 businesses meeting the target in 2002. Since the target was set, it has become clear that many SMEs have not seen trading online as the best way for them to use ICT most effectively. Businesses have found that they can achieve real benefits through the use of technologies that allow them, for example, to manage internal processes, communicate more effectively with customers and suppliers, and work collaboratively with partners. This fact has been reflected in the aims of the UK Online for Business programme, which now seeks to encourage more integrated, sophisticated use of ICT by business.
	The third target for the UK to be a world leader in e-business is one that we are still striving to reach. The DTI's international benchmarking study 2003 shows that while businesses in other countries are making a more sophisticated use of ICT than UK businesses, the gap between the leaders and the UK is not great. Other recent surveys have shown positive signs, for example, the Economist Intelligence Unit's e-readiness survey 2003 placed the UK third in the world.
	Rather than being disbanded, UK Online for Businesses will be integrated into the new offer on business support, to be unveiled in April. This is part of the restructuring of the existing system of support, to provide a smaller number of schemes and a simpler way for businesses to access them. The support and promotion of ICT usage by business will continue to be a key focus for DTI.

Civil Service: Training about Parliament

Lord Norton of Louth: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam on 15 December 2003 (WA 118), what evaluation has been undertaken of the effectiveness of the seminars in parliamentary procedure provided for members of the Bill teams.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Delegates to the seminars are invited to complete an evaluation, from which it is clear that virtually everyone claims a useful increase in their skills and knowledge of this process.

Ministers: Induction

Lord Norton of Louth: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Bassam of Brighton on 10 December (WA 75), to what extent are the services of former Ministers utilised in the induction event for new Ministers.

Lord Bassam of Brighton: Former and existing Ministers are used to help to deliver the induction event where their skills and experience can benefit participants.

vCJD and HIV: Public Expenditure

The Countess of Mar: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What has been the total expenditure on socal security benefits, medical treatment, research and compensation borne by the taxpayer on each life lost from (a) vCJD and (b) HIV/AIDS.

Lord Warner: Information on social security benefits expenditure on patients who have died from variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) or HIV/AIDS is not available in the form requested.
	The information requested for HIV treatment is not available centrally. The sums allocated by the Department of Health to the National Health Service for HIV/AIDS treatment and care in England for the past five years for which funds were separately identified are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Year HIV Treatment Allocation (£ Millions) 
			 1997–98 199.7 
			 1998–99 228.2 
			 1999–2000 226.9 
			 2000–01 184.3(1) 
			 2001–02 233.5 
		
	
	(1)After expenditure of £52.8 million on genitourinary medicine is disaggregated.
	From April 2002, the special allocation for HIV treament and care was added to National Health Service baseline funding according to the target distribution of HIV across England, and is no longer separately identified.
	NHS expenditure on treatment and care for each life lost to vCJD is estimated to be in the range of between £30,000 and £40,000.
	Estimated total expenditure from public funds on HIV/AIDS research since 1984 is £300 million.
	The Department of Health's expenditure on vCJD research since 1996 is £30.1 million. The main agency through which the Government support biomedical and clinical research is the Medical Research Council (MRC) which receives its grant-in-aid from the office of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. The MRC spent a total of £32.5 million on research relevant to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies including vCJD during the period 1996–97 to 2002–03.
	A special payment scheme (the Macfarlane Trust) for haemophilia patients infected with HIV/AIDS through blood products was introduced in 1988. Payments from this scheme amount to about £3 million annually.
	The vCJD compensation scheme provides for payments to be made in respect of 250 cases up to a maximum of £67.5 million. This includes the Government's agreement to meet the families' request to pay a further £50,000 to every victim or their family in each of the first 250 cases. The legal and administrative costs of running the scheme are met from within the overall sum.

vCJD: UK Cases

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish in the Official Report a table listing all cases of vCJD which have been confirmed in the United Kingdom, indicating in each case the date of death, the date of the onset of symptoms and the date vCJD was confirmed.

Lord Warner: The information, as supplied by the National CJD Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, is shown in the table. It provides information on the 103 definite cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) where the diagnosis has been pathologically confirmed. There are another 42 probable cases of vCJD, including six who are still alive, where neuropathological confirmation is either absent or pending.
	
		Confirmed Cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom as at 20 January 2004
		
			 Date of Death Date of Onset Date Confirmed 
			 May 95 Jun 94 Sep 95 
			 May 97 Mar 94 Sep 95 
			 Nov 95 Jan 95 Jan 96 
			 Feb 96 Aug 94 Feb 96 
			 Feb 96 Mar 95 Mar 96 
			 Nov 95 Dec 94 Jan 96 
			 Jan 96 Feb 94 Jan 96 
			 Jan 96 Jul 94 Jan 96 
			 May 96 Aug 95 Mar 96 
			 Feb 96 Jan 95 Mar 96 
			 Jun 96 Jan 94 Jul 96 
			 Jun 96 Jan 95 Apr 96 
			 Sep 96 Jul 95 Sep 96 
			 Dec 97 Jan 96 Sep 96 
			 Feb 97 Dec 95 Jun 97 
			 Mar 97 Oct 95 May 97 
			 Jun 97 Jan 96 Jun 97 
			 Mar 97 Mar 96 Feb 97 
			 Jul 97 Nov 96 Oct 97 
			 Oct 98 May 96 Nov 98 
			 May 97 Mar 96 Jun 97 
			 Apr 98 Mar 96 Jun 98 
			 Feb 97 Dec 94 Jul 97 
			 Oct 97 Oct 96 Nov 97 
			 Sep 99 Dec 96 Sep 99 
			 Mar 98 Sep 95 May 98 
			 Jan 98 Feb 97 Mar 98 
			 Aug 98 Jul 97 Oct 98 
			 Oct 98 Oct 97 Dec 98 
			 May 98 May 96 May 98 
			 Oct 98 Nov 97 Oct 98 
			 Aug 98 Jul 97 Oct 98 
			 Oct 98 Jul 97 Nov 98 
			 Nov 98 Nov 97 Feb 99 
			 Dec 98 May 98 Feb 99 
			 Oct 98 Nov 97 Nov 98 
			 Feb 99 Dec 97 Sep 99 
			 Feb 99 Dec 97 May 99 
			 May 99 Jan 98 Mar 00 
			 Jul 99 May 98 Jul 99 
			 Dec 98 Aug 97 Oct 99 
			 Jun 00 Mar 97 Jun 00 
			 Dec 98 Dec 97 Mar 99 
			 Jan 99 Feb 98 Feb 99 
			 Feb 99 Oct 97 Jun 99 
			 Oct 99 Jul 98 Jan 00 
			 Feb 00 Jun 98 Jun 00 
			 Nov 98 Apr 98 Feb 99 
			 Aug 99 Jun 98 Nov 99 
			 Oct 00 Jul 98 Dec 00 
			 Mar 00 Sep 98 Apr 00 
			 Nov 99 May 98 Dec 99 
			 Aug 99 Jan 99 Aug 99 
			 Oct 99 Jul 98 Dec 99 
			 Dec 99 Jun 99 May 00 
			 Jan 00 Apr 99 Jan 00 
			 Nov 99 Feb 99 Aug 00 
			 Feb 00 Apr 99 Apr 00 
			 Mar 00 Sep 98 May 00 
			 Jul 00 Mar 99 Aug 00 
			 Jul 00 Oct 98 Sep 00 
			 Apr 00 May 99 Aug 00 
			 Apr 00 Apr 99 Aug 00 
			 Aug 00 Jun 99 Aug 00 
			 Mar 00 May 99 Jun 00 
			 May 00 Jul 98 Aug 00 
			 May 00 Apr 99 Jun 00 
			 Aug 00 Jul 99 Nov 00 
			 Oct 00 Dec 99 Oct 00 
			 Feb 01 Jul 99 May 01 
			 Jul 00 Aug 99 Sep 00 
			 Nov 00 Mar 00 Jan 01 
			 Aug 00 Jan 00 Oct 00 
			 Aug 00 Oct 99 Oct 00 
			 Sep 00 Oct 99 Oct 00 
			 Feb 01 Aug 99 Jul 01 
			 Sep 00 Dec 99 Feb 01 
			 Aug 01 Jan 00 Oct 01 
			 Nov 00 Dec 99 Aug 01 
			 Oct 99 Mar 99 Sep 00 
			 Jan 01 Feb 00 Jun 01 
			 Apr 01 Apr 00 May 01 
			 May 01 Dec 99 Jun 01 
			 Apr 01 Apr 00 Jul 01 
			 Apr 01 May 00 Jun 01 
			 Mar 01 Jan 00 Aug 01 
			 Jun 01 Sep 00 Jun 01 
			 Jul 01 Sep 00 Jul 01 
			 Aug 01 Oct 00 Sep 01 
			 Oct 01 Dec 00 Jun 02 
			 Feb 02 Oct 00 Apr 02 
			 Apr 02 May 01 Jun 02 
			 Mar 02 May 01 Oct 02 
			 Feb 03 Mar 01 Apr 03 
			 Feb 03 Sep 01 Sep 03 
			 Nov 02 Oct 01 Dec 02 
			 Dec 02 May 01 Feb 03 
			 Apr 03 Nov 01 Jun 03 
			 Feb 03 Jan 02 Jun 03 
			 May 03 Sep 02 Sep 03 
			 May 03 Jan 02 Apr 03 
			 Sep 03 Dec 02 Dec 03 
			 Oct 03 Sep 02 Dec 03 
		
	
	The information is presented in the order in which cases were notified to the National CJD Surveillance Unit.

Sexual Health and HIV: Independent Advisory Group's Recommendations

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many times the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV has met; and what recommendations it has made; and
	What steps are being taken to implement any recommendations made by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV.

Lord Warner: The Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV has met four times. The group's recommendations have been collated within its Response to the Health Select Committee Report on Sexual Health, published on 15 January 2004. Reports containing the group's recommendations will also be available on the Department of Health website.
	The Government are considering the recommendations made by the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health & HIV, contained within the group's Response to the Health Select Committee Report on Sexual Health. The Department of Health is working with the group on taking forward the issues raised.

Research Ethics Committees

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) approved the experiment conducted in 1998 at Inveresk Research, Scotland, in which 50 men were exposed to a dose of the pesticide Azinphos-methyl:
	(a) to what extent local research ethics committees (RECs) in 1998 were guided and monitored by the Department of Health;
	(b) to what extent non-National Health Service RECs were guided and monitored by the Department of Health; and
	(c) whether the Department of Health had a policy of transparency for the operation of RECs; and
	Whether they propose to change their mode of guidance for, and inspection of, research ethics committees with a view to requiring their operation to be transparent.

Lord Warner: In 1991 the Department of Health issued revised guidelines on the establishment, role and functions of local research ethics committees (LRECs) in the National Health Service. These guidelines imposed strict criteria on how LRECs conduct their business and provided clear lines of accountability. The guidelines were replaced in 2001 by the Governance arrangements for NHS research ethics committees. Both the 1991 guidelines and the 2001 governance arrangements state that LRECs should submit to the appointing health authority an annual report that should also be available for public inspection. Departmental guidance on LRECs provides a model of good practice for research ethics committees outside the NHS. It is not the responsibility of the department to monitor such committees.
	The United Kingdom's draft implementing regulations to transpose the Clinical Trials Directive (2001/20/EC) into domestic law were published in February 2003 for consultation. The regulations make provisions concerning the establishment and operation of research ethics committees convened to review clinical trials of medicines.

Medication Reviews for Older People

Baroness Greengross: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How they are ensuring that all general practitioners meet the target of carrying out annual and six-monthly reviews of medication for people aged over 75; and what is their estimate of the percentage of general practitioners that meet this target.

Lord Warner: The National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People requires medication reviews to be carried out for all people over 75 years at least once a year and those taking more than four or more medicines to have a review every six months. It is for strategic health authorities to monitor progress against delivery of the NSF milestones. The Department of Health does not collect data centrally on the percentage of general practitioners meeting the NSF target.
	However, the National Medicines Management collaborative hosted by the National Prescribing Centre has demonstrated significant progress on medication reviews. Currently they have three waves in operation. For the first wave, the overall percentage of patients with a documented review for patients 65 years and over on four or more medicines rose from 9 per cent to 32 per cent. For the second wave, which covers 200 GP practices in 40 primary care trusts (PCTs), this figure increased from 28 per cent in June 2002 to 47 per cent by September 2003. For Wave 3, for the same number of practices, the number of reviews increased from 29 per cent in January 2003 to 50 per cent in September 2003.
	Many PCTs that are not part of the collaborative have also implemented the national service framework milestone on medication reviews by supporting community pharmacists in delivering medicines management to older people.
	The Medicines Partnership Taskforce funded by Department of Health will be surveying PCTs to explore the extent to which medication reviews are being carried out early in 2004.
	The quality indicators for the new GP contract will require them to carry out medication reviews for patients being prescribed four or more repeat medicines every 15 months which will be recorded in the patients' notes from next April.
	In the government statement of 17 July 2003 on the proposed framework for a new community pharmacy contract, it was highlighted that medicines use review was expected to form one of the enhanced services normally provided by accredited pharmacists from April 2004.
	All of the above initiatives should help to ensure that medication reviews for older people are carried out as required by the NSF for Older People.

Human Reproductive Cloning

Lord Taylor of Warwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will consider increasing the penalty for any person attempting to clone a baby in Britain.

Lord Warner: The Human Reproductive Cloning Act 2001 makes it an offence to place in a woman a human embryo which has been created other than by fertilisation. The Act provides for up to 10 years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine on conviction. The Government have no plans to increase the penalty.

Sea Levels

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their current prediction for the average rise in sea level around the United Kingdom over the next (a) 10, (b) 30 and (c) 100 years; how this compares with the rise over the past 10 years; and how it affects planning decisions for coastal and estuarine developments, especially in areas already subject to flooding.

Lord Whitty: The UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP), funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), published a report and set of climate change scenarios, referred to as the UKCIP02 scenarios, in April 2002. The report concludes that it is likely that relative sea level will continue to rise around most of the UK's shoreline, with the predicted rate of increase depending on the climate models and emission scenarios used, and the rate of vertical land movements due to natural geological causes or human influences. By the 2080s, sea level may be between 26 cm and 86 cm above the current level in south-east England.
	The report also concludes that extreme sea levels will be experienced more frequently. For some east coast locations, extreme sea levels could occur between 10 and 20 times more frequently by the 2080s than they do now, under the medium-high emissions scenario.
	In predicting sea level change it is important to make allowance for the natural inter-annual variability of sea level due to a number of meteorological and oceanic factors. The change of annual-mean UK sea level from year to year is approximately 5-10 cm. The Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, with funding from Defra, is the national centre for monitoring sea level. Its records suggest that the underlying increase in mean sea level over the past few decades has been some 2 mm per year for south-east England.
	The Defra publication Flood and Coastal Defence Project Appraisal Guidance 3: Economic Appraisal, advises operating authorities on the appropriate allowances for climate change when considering flood and coastal defence investments. Updated supplementary guidance was issued in the light of the UKCIP 2002 scenarios in 2003. These include recommended allowances for increases in sea level of between 4 mm and 6 mm per year, where the higher level applies to the south and east of England. Similar allowances have been built into FM measures since the mid 1980s.
	In dealing with development proposals, planning policy guidance 25 issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister advises planning authorities to "consult and take into account advice from the Environment Agency, which should incorporate the latest information on climate change."

BSE

Lord Marlesford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will update the information on the number of BSE cases reported and confirmed each week during 2003 and 2004 to date, together with the moving annual totals for each week during 2003 and 2004 to date, together with moving annual totals for each 52-week period.

Lord Whitty: The number of active and passive surveillance cases of BSE confirmed in Great Britain during each week of 2003 and in the current year to 19 January, and the moving annual totals of "confirmed" and "reported" cases for each 52-week perod
	
		
			  Passive Surveillance  Active Surveillance  Reported 
			 Week No Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Number confirmed each week Running 52 week total Running 52 week total 
			 2003 
			 1 0 508 0 598 878 
			 2 7 496 15 613 865 
			 3 2 476 10 623 851 
			 4 2 466 28 600 844 
			 5 4 468 7 586 830 
			 6 5 448 7 564 828 
			 7 6 439 4 538 817 
			 8 5 435 37 568 795 
			 9 6 425 5 558 784 
			 10 3 418 13 567 777 
			 11 5 409 15 551 776 
			 12 2 392 13 564 767 
			 13 8 388 13 543 764 
			 14 3 391 2 545 751 
			 15 2 367 12 544 734 
			 16 0 366 5 519 717 
			 17 7 353 16 535 702 
			 18 0 337 0 522 681 
			 19 8 338 16 530 678 
			 20 1 324 0 529 664 
			 21 6 323 22 539 652 
			 22 3 310 2 532 642 
			 23 5 315 8 539 648 
			 24 0 298 7 524 637 
			 25 4 294 0 519 626 
			 26 2 291 17 520 612 
			 27 5 296 1 521 605 
			 28 4 293 10 512 599 
			 29 2 294 2 514 594 
			 30 5 295 7 510 588 
			 31 4 295 5 508 573 
			 32 2 275 4 496 566 
			 33 4 270 5 492 564 
			 34 4 267 2 484 562 
			 35 1 263 11 490 550 
			 36 1 261 5 487 543 
			 37 0 253 0 483 532 
			 38 0 246 0 478 529 
			 39 7 246 17 476 527 
			 40 6 241 14 483 527 
			 41 5 240 1 479 513 
			 42 2 234 4 472 511 
			 43 4 229 7 477 500 
			 44 1 226 22 492 489 
			 45 4 217 2 476 472 
			 46 4 216 6 480 470 
			 47 2 205 2 470 474 
			 48 3 186 6 453 470 
			 49 1 184 11 433 465 
			 50 6 179 0 427 462 
			 51 3 177 11 429 455 
			 52 1 177 0 429 457 
			 2004 
			 1 1 178 1 430 451 
			 2 0 171 6 421 455 
			 3 2 171 1 412 451 
			 4 0 0 0 0 0 
			 5 0 0 0 0 0 
			 6 0 0 0 0 0 
			 7 0 0 0 0 0 
			 8 0 0 0 0 0 
			 9 0 0 0 0 0 
			 10 0 0 0 0 0 
			 11 0 0 0 0 0 
			 12 0 0 0 0 0 
			 13 0 0 0 0 0 
			 14 0 0 0 0 0 
			 15 0 0 0 0 0 
			 16 0 0 0 0 0 
			 17 0 0 0 0 0 
			 18 0 0 0 0 0 
			 19 0 0 0 0 0 
			 20 0 0 0 0 0 
			 21 0 0 0 0 0 
			 22 0 0 0 0 0 
			 23 0 0 0 0 0 
			 24 0 0 0 0 0 
			 25 0 0 0 0 0 
			 26 0 0 0 0 0 
			 27 0 0 0 0 0 
			 28 0 0 0 0 0 
			 29 0 0 0 0 0 
			 30 0 0 0 0 0 
			 31 0 0 0 0 0 
			 32 0 0 0 0 0 
			 33 0 0 0 0 0 
			 34 0 0 0 0 0 
			 35 0 0 0 0 0 
			 36 0 0 0 0 0 
			 37 0 0 0 0 0 
			 38 0 0 0 0 0 
			 39 0 0 0 0 0 
			 40 0 0 0 0 0 
			 41 0 0 0 0 0 
			 42 0 0 0 0 0 
			 43 0 0 0 0 0 
			 44 0 0 0 0 0 
			 45 0 0 0 0 0 
			 46 0 0 0 0 0 
			 47 0 0 0 0 0 
			 48 0 0 0 0 0 
			 49 0 0 0 0 0 
			 50 0 0 0 0 0 
			 51 0 0 0 0 0 
			 52 0 0 0 0 0